What's Cooking (Take Four)

Made Philly cheesesteaks tonight. A pretty good approximation. Plus I learned a trick about the rolls, which are key to good cheesesteaks. I didn't have time to make rolls, so I bought two torpedo-shaped rolls at Albertson's. I sliced them, buttered the insides, but didn't open them. Then I put them in 400F oven 3-5 minutes, which crisped the outside, but left the insides tender. Worked great.

[Jenise]

I do that a lot with super soft supermarket loaves. I love that contrast between out and in.

Tuesday night I didn't cook. Had 'happy hour' with friends who served pretzels, a scary creamy dip, Cheetos and Ruffles potato chips. No natural food in sight. When I got home I, in atonement, I ate a bowl of blackberries. A few hours later a stomach ache began, then extreme nausea and finally first of 16 trips to the bathroom over a four-hour period of 10-2 a.m.

Food poisoning, obviously. But from what?

Last night I dined out with friends and tonight I'm on my own. Not sure what dinner will be yet. I don't have an immediate plan.

If someone else had the same problem, I'd zero in on the dip. If not, it's possible the blackberries were contaminated. But it depends on the timing. If it was very soon after eating the berries, I wouldn't bet on them as the culprit. You need a few hours for your problem to develop.

[Jenise]

I shouldn't have mentioned the dip. I was making fun of my phobia by using the word 'scary' to imply I didn't go near it. I ate the berries around 7:00, the nausea started around 10:30. Nobody else got sick so it had to have been the berries. Scary thought.

"Scary" had no effect on me. I was considering the ingredients. FWIW, not the first time berries have been contaminated. Good you got over it.

Bit o' advice, though: Don't fill your canteen at Rock Creek, Washington, D.C., where RFK swam with his grandchildren.

Why not, is the creek contaminated?

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Why not swim where RFK was with his grand?
Im getting this message again:
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[Jenise]

Karen, we're all getting those. People are working on it behind the scenes. In the meantime, using your back-up arrow will often get rid of it and free you to post.

The creek where RFK took his kids is highly contaminated.

[Jenise]

Tonight I'm making myself a sheet pan dish of roasted chicken thigh and artichokes.

[Jenise]

So, that sheet pan dinner: as I got around to making dinner, my inner Chef rebelled and said "you can do better, you know how, do your thing." On Thursday I had put one big chicken thigh in a little baggie with a dollop of white wine, some EVOO, a pinch of salt and a chopped garlic clove. Then last night (Friday), in a small skillet, the size kind you cook a couple fried eggs in, I browned the thigh skin-side down for about ten minutes, then flipped it, added sliced onions, a garlic clove, and a generous amount of artichoke pieces (from frozen), vermouth, chicken broth and cream. I allowed that to cook down until the moisture evaporated and the artichokes started to brown. I then replenished some of the fluids to create a lightly thickened sauce, nested the thigh on a sourdough crouton, surrounded that with the artichokes and topped the thigh with a bright little garnishing salad of finely chopped escarole, raddichio and parsley with O&V.

The result was ridiculously good, not only something I loved eating but that is company-worthy. Oh, and I served it with a dry, crisp Washington-grown Semillon that tasted a lot more like Bordeaux, France than North America.

I checked the freezer yesterday and pulled out a package of chicken thighs, another package with two drumsticks, and a couple of wings. Today, they will be coated with Gochujang, a bit of Calabrian crushed peppers, and a few splashes of Bruno's pepper juice from the jar. Multi colored baby potatoes will be coated in a honey lime mix and will go onto the sheet pan with the chicken. I have corn on the cob, Brussels Sprouts, cauliflower, and broccoli, and will toss chunks into a bowl with fresh garlic oil and a yet to be decided mix of herbs and or spices. I also have baby arugula and was inspired by Jenise to figure out how to use it as a base for the roasted veggies. Any suggestions?

[Jenise]

I invited some guests to dinner tonight. One friend widowed not long ago to whom I wasn't able to be much of a friend because of what I had going on at home with Bob, another single lady friend, and my gay brother in law who loves to cook. I've created a menu for a dinner we'll make together:

Gardineria
Artichoke and ricotta bruschetta
Italian Wedding risotto (garlicky chicken meatballs, spinach, roasted radishes)
Frangipane tarts

I'm making dhansak this weekend. This is a pureed lentil and vegetable dish from the Parsi community in Gujarat that is usually cooked with mutton (goat) but this version leaves out the meat.

-Paul W.

Went to a UNM graduation for the grand-daughter of my late best friend. Unbelievable amount of food. Majority was Mexican food, but plenty of foods and desserts, too. I ate enough for two days and am now feeling a basketball in my stomach. Won't be eating for a while.

[Jenise]

Tonight I'm grilling myself some lamb chops, currently marinating in soy sauce, garlic, oregano and vermouth, which I'll serve with a warm, lemony potato and grilled ramp salad and sliced tomatoes. Greekish.

Andouille and tasso jambalaya tonight.

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

Yesterday I more or less planned all day to go over to Semiahmoo for the Wednesday night prime rib but I never managed to round up any cohorts, and then suddenly my refrigerator was leaking water, and then there was a gray whale frolicking in the water beyod my patio, and between refrigerator despair and whale watching it was suddenly 6 p.m. and I had nothing for dinner. But while messing around in the freezer I had spied a little tub of red mystery sauce so I decided "whatever that is, I'm going to thaw and eat it".

Turned out to be an amatriciana sauce, but it tasted kind of blah to me. It needed something, and it just so happened that I had made a roasted guajillo chile salsa last week, so I put a few scoops of that in, then enough chicken broth to cook some penne rigate, and ended up with a bowl of this tomato-bacon-chile pasta onto the top and center of which, for contrast, I scooped a heaping tablespoon of a tangy cold marinated artichoke puree, and the result was FANTASTIC. Very attractive, too.

What happened to the fridge? Did you have to call for a repair? I like your creative instincts.
Last night, I had a chicken thigh left, but no veggies. I had two yellow squashes in the fridge that needed to be used. I cut the ends off of them, sliced them into thick slices, and put them into a pot with chicken stock, Peruvian Pepper Jam, soy sauce, and tomato paste, with fresh thyme. Tonight is leftover chicken enchiladas, which I have leftover from my lunch with family earlier this week.

[Jenise]

Re the fridge, I took the icemaker (which had quite a bit of frost on it) apart and then re-installed it. No water since, so that fixed it!

Yesterday was an odd day. Lunch was a bowl of Co-Op market clam chowder out of the hot line, and dinner was a big bowl of California cherries from a roadside stand, first of the season for me. I know, I eat weird.

[Jenise]

Spent five hours in the dentist chair today (implant situation has turned into major drama). Dinner: mashed strawberries.

I've often told dentists that it's too bad we're not like sharks.

[Jenise]

Ha! Could be handy. My situation: I broke this tooth, implant needed. Decided I didn't want to stay with nearby Dentist #1 and switched to Dentist #2 one town over who I liked A LOT. Gentle and thorough, he was an associate in the practice my brother had been going to and thought highly of. I needed the implant on No 9, a new cap on No. 10 adjacent which was damaged during the implant surgery, and it was agreed all around that I go ahead and replace No 7 and No 8 whose caps, now almost 40 years old, should be replaced at the same time. These are all four of the upper front teeth between the canines.

As soon as Bob's situation freed me up I scheduled an appt on Apr 28th to work out the plan for all this. Went in and learned that Dentist #2--the good guy--was leaving that practice. Covered by an NDA he couldn't tell me where he was going, and the owner of the practice, let's call her Dentist #3, would see me. She was actually who I'd tried to see there in the first place but I went with her associate instead because her shoulder was savagely attacked by a dog a year ago and she had physical limitations as a result. Six months ago, she could only do simple procedures. Now they said, she can more complicated jobs if they're morning appts and not more than one like that per day. With some misgivings--this town has dozens of good dentists but getting into one might be a chore, and time was of the essence--I agreed to this.

The next day I went in for the 2 hr appt. Well, first off she wouldn't do the replacements of No 7 and 8. I let her go ahead with the rest, which I should not have done, and it turned into a disaster. The appointment was very disjointed. There was a lot of nervousness and the transitions from one step to the next didn't feel cohesive. She was clearly in major physical discomfort. At the end of 3.5 hours she left the last impression in too long and pulled out the implant device. Noticeably upset, she said she would just let the lab figure it out, and she fled the premesis. Meanwhile her assistant decided to make a brand new cap for No. 10, where the temp cap I'd arrived with, made by Dentist #2, had been deemed a work of art and definitely worth re-using. (This, I have learned, was illegal without the licensed dentist at least in the building for supervision.) I presume she did this in order to create another billable service. I left there even less whole than when I arrived. And very, very alarmed.

First thing next morning I showed up at the implant surgeon's office. He said she "stripped the screw". He replaced it and had his office staff call her office and tell her to cease and desist all further efforts on my behalf, and offered to recommend another dentist or even help locate the good Dentist #2 via the dental community. A week later we found Dentist #2: of all things, he'd bought the practice of nearby Dentist #1!!!! I immediately scheduled appts, and just when I thought nothing else could go wrong, the temporary cap on No. 10 made by Dentist #2's assistant, which had irritated my gums since installation, fell out and was found to be not just ragged around the edges but green inside! Green, like swimming pool algae. So I now have temp cap #3 on No. 10 and teeth 7 and 8 are ready for their new caps as well.

Everything's good now and in three weeks I'll get my new teeth, but jeez. Oh, and I just got a bill from my insurance company for my share of the disastrous day with Dentist #3. She had the nerve to bill them; I've filed a complaint. I refuse to pay that.

Today, I am making chicken with purple cabbage and green cabbage salad with basil, cilantro, and green onions. The salad is dressed with seasoned rice vinegar, fish sauce, garlic, red pepper flakes, a tad of sesame oil, and lime wedges at serving. There will be a veggie side, but I have not figured that out yet.

My situation: I broke this tooth, implant needed.

I remember when you said this.

Covered by an NDA he couldn't tell me where he was going...

What a load of bs!

Now they said, she can more complicated jobs if they're morning appts and not more than one like that per day. ... she wouldn't do the replacements of No 7 and 8 ... She was clearly in major physical discomfort ... Noticeably upset, she said she would just let the lab figure it out, and she fled the premesis.

Ai ai ai. I'm so sorry you were the guinea pig for a has-been dentist. I hope, at least, there was anesthesia!

He replaced it and had his office staff call her office and tell her to cease and desist...

Bravo. Somebody who remembers Hippocrates.

...the temporary cap on No. 10 made by Dentist #2's assistant, which had irritated my gums since installation, fell out

Well, there's a surprise. Not.

Everything's good now and in three weeks I'll get my new teeth, but jeez.

My knees are jelly just reading this story.